CHICAGO — A few years back, a sad pal down on his luck showed up on my doorstep with a suitcase, two glass carboys and a look on his face that seemed to say, “Will make beer for a cheap place to crash.”
“For the price of a case, I can make enough beer for a month,” my now happy and successful friend told me that day. “And if supply gets low, I can always make more.”
We struck a deal. He moved in. And down in the basement, my buddy used one of those beer-in-a-box kits to brew enough fine lager and tasty Kolsch to get us through a pretty brutal winter without ever having to make a beer run.
There are a lot of reasons Chicagoans brew beer in their basements — heck, even their studio apartments — and eliminating winter beer runs certainly is a good one.
Craft beer has become so popular in Chicago that even Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a guy known to order Amstel Light at his favorite bar, told the Tribune he came up with the idea to launch a beer tourism website while swimming laps.
The American Homebrewers Association, which has more than 45,000 members nationwide, counts 11 Chicago homebrew clubs on its rolls. Plus, there are 39 craft breweries and at least five spots in the city where any regular Joe can buy the stuff he needs to make really good beer at home.
“That’s pretty astounding for a single city,” AHA director Garry Glass said. “Chicago has a great home-brewing community and it's one of the most vibrant ones in the country.”
On Sunday, about 300 basement brewmasters — most from the Chicago metro area — are expected to rally at the Lagunitas brewery at 15th Street and Rockwell to show off the best of their small-batch brews.
The highlight of the gathering just might be the “Hop Stoopid” clone challenge. Lagunitas brewers shared their recipe for Hop Stoopid Imperial IPA with AHA members who signed up for the rally, which is nearly sold out.
“We invited them to brew Hop Stoopid and bring a few bottles with them to share. Our brewers will talk to them about their version and we’ll have our Hop Stoopid to try and … geek out on beer,” Lagunitas spokeswoman Karen Hamilton said. “And they’re getting a special tour.”
Regular ol’ beer enthusiasts typically tour the Lagunitas operation on a set of catwalks that snake through the brewery. On Sunday, home brewers will get a ground-level tour led by Lagunitas’ top brewers.
“Because they’re brewers we’ll take them up on scaffolding to get an up close and personal look at equipment that they can especially appreciate,” Hamilton said. “The sheer size of the tanks makes looking inside is a pretty amazing view. It’ll be fun.”
There’s bad news: Sunday’s rally is for AHA members only.
And good news: There’s still time to join up and reserve a spot at the rally. You don’t even have to be a guy with carboys filled with beer in his basement.
If you do go, you just might be inspired, Glass said.
“When I talk about home brewing, I tell people it’s easier than you think it is,” he said. “With quality ingredients that are out there and the right equipment it’s easy to make really excellent beer right from the start.”
And take it from my pal, if you're ever down on your luck, knowing how to brew your own beer never hurts when you need a cheap place to crash.
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